


S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsosdos Introductions: Agent Jasper Sitwell

by Wayang_Silver



Series: S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsosdos Introductions [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 02:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3511202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wayang_Silver/pseuds/Wayang_Silver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sitwell sabotages a mission the US army is undertaking by General Ross' orders; he's shocked his target is a teenager. No one apparently passed a memo the army were chasing a kid: Genesis Rhapsodos. Moreover, what does Ross want from him? When Ross' records show human genetic enhancements for military exploitation, it's nothing good. 1st of Introduction Series. Chapter 2 of 2 (COMPLETE)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. PART I

**Author's Note:**

> First in the Introduction series. If you haven't read S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsosdos: Taking the Backseat, you might be missing out the fact that Genesis is an Agent of SHIELD in my Avengers and FFVII crossover. Other than that, this is basically a meet up with Agent Sitwell and Genesis for the first time. Although you'll understand more of Genesis' situation if you've read S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Rhapsosdos: A Part That Remains.

* * *

_**~ Introductions: Agent Jasper Sitwell PART I ~** _

_Real Name: Jasper Sitwell_

_Aliases: Jason Sitwell_

_Identity Status: SHIELD Agent, Level 5 Interrogator._

* * *

_New York, USA_

_Old Apartment blocks..._

_Year 2005_

_~( Hey Jasper, you really want to stick with the kid? )~_ My partner's voice asked me with worry, through my communicator. The way he questioned me was as if I just signed my death warrant.

I sighed, "He is _the_ target– _our_ target. And as of now, I owe him. He also agreed to come with us without a fuss if we vouch for his safety. Better a willing target than unwilling. Extra information on what General 'Thunderbolt' is truly after is probably what the Director needs to know." My eyes were still observing how the red-headed teen, as he handled complicated credentials of a military secured computer with ease of a professional agent–or an elite hacker at that. I couldn't really imagine what kids were learning these days. It wasn't like Genesis was a run of the mill normal teen.

Jimmy seemed to be disturbed about my decision _~( Fine–You're the one calling the shots here. If we get caught by the military, Fury gets burned by the army because this mission is out of our jurisdiction. When that happens, we'll pretty much get booted out of the division. Anything else we've missed on the consequences list? )~_

"Agent Woo–just point me to the nearest car that's parked for convenience." I snapped back. Next time, I was going to make sure Director Fury won't partner me with Jimmy on field missions. Interrogation matters and how we coped on the field were different things. While Jimmy was a great interrogator; he sadly wasn't exactly great in the spying department.

 _~( There's a black Chevrolet sedan a block north from your position, it's parked near a tree with a hydrant next to it. You can't miss it. )~_ There was a silent pause before my partner asked me again, _~( How's our target doing?)~_

Looking at Genesis's face slowly getting paler by the second facing the screen with his shoulder injury, I was sure we were short on time before he collapsed due to blood loss. "Getting worse–I'm surprised he's still awake at all–make sure you have medics on standby at our rendezvous point. Forward them the kid's known medical files and get his blood type right; he's going to need a blood pack or two."

I heard Jimmy wincing on the kid's unfortunate injury, but he kept his wits professionally. _~ ( On it. You two better make a break for it once you're done. I'm getting visuals of ten army guys on your way– plus, I got some heading my way too– Great–looks like I got flagged. )~_ he muttered sarcastically.

"Agent Woo, get out of there now." I ordered calmly. "You've got the data to prove our case to the higher-ups." From the security cameras from the visuals in the room, I got an eye of Ross' soldiers coming up the emergency stairs. Not good. It seemed like out exit option was out the window, which was at least closer to the car our operatives prepared before the mission started.

_~( You gonna be fine with the kid? )~_

I let out a weak laugh. "We're better off if the army doesn't know we're the ones sabotaging them."

_~( I'm just making sure I'll be having a partner in the interrogation room next week. Have I told you the guys caught a big fish last Monday that we need to crack later? )~_

"Jimmy!" I hissed at him from my communicator.

 _~( Alright! I'm off, I'm off! Careful, they're not the kind lot. We'll try to get some agents to shake them off of you two–whatever you do, get outta there immediately. This is Agent Woo signing out. )~_ Woo briskly said, and the line was cut.

"It's done Agent Sitwell," a young voice alerted me back to the situation at hand. Genesis handed me the card chip that now held the Intel to the project that was supposed to be only known to the Strategic Scientific Reserve before they disbanded. I quickly took the external data chip and hid it in my pocket.

"Through the window, we're going down that–"

I never got to a chance to end the order; the teen's body tilted at an odd angle and took a dive to the floor. Not going to happen. I raced over and snaked my arm around him before he made contact with the ground.

"Genesis–Kid! Snap out of it! Don't go clocking out on me now!" I yelled out, shaking him lightly trying to get the kid focus back to the world of consciousness. Heaving him up to his feet, my suit on my right shoulder was starting to soak with blood. I grimaced as his shoulder wound bled profusely through the bandage. While I had my fair share of seeing civilians getting dragged by terrorists because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, I really didn't want the kid dying on me.

This mission had taken the worst sort of downturn I wasn't expecting.

* * *

**_~ A few hours before… ~_ **

_"Don't worry; it's just an extraction mission."_

Those were the last few words from the division's higher agent echelons when I was assigned this mission; the famous words that usually gets people in trouble.

My name is Jasper Sitwell, Agent of the Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division; specialty: Interrogations. Even so, it was common that all agents were trained for all sorts of missions. Extraction missions in particular were frequent if anyone worked in the Intel and spy business side of our division. With the endless number of enemies we have, only high selected few were chosen into our agency–Which meant many agents had to be adaptable to any situation. That night, I wasn't going to buy that it was going to be a 'simple' extraction mission. Especially with whom I was partnered up with.

My partner is Agent James Woo; he's Chinese American. Everyone else calls him Jimmy for short. He has short black hair that's divided in the middle and looks younger than he really is. Most people assume he's not quite up to the job at times when they look at his DOB. I don't blame them though; the guy acts and looks like in his late twenties for the most part. Unlike the rest of us who were picked up early just as we graduated from the spy school or the other Intel agencies, Director Fury invited Woo from the FBI. His specialty is the same as mine, Interrogations, but with a level 3 clearance level. Yet don't let the level 3 clearance fool you though, the guy is one of the elite interrogators we have, especially when he has a 98% success rate in making anyone talk.

We're both somewhat famous/infamous (depending on your point of view) when we crack subjects in the interrogation room. The director claims it's 'like a Saturday Night Live Skit that's actually funny'. The fact most of our interrogation tapes are frequently logged by agents for movie night, means we're good at doing what we do. Agent Hill and Agent Blake **_(1)_** aren't sure how we do it, but the point is, we're capable of making Director Fury crack a smile on more than one occasion. Other than those reasons, we were sent in to sabotage a leak in military Intel. Rumor has it that the military's target is a feisty one; he's escaped all sorts of mishaps through a few states all the way from Chicago to New York for three months.

Our mission? Simple; capture the target before the military does and question him on our own turf. Most important of all, we get the information that target holds.

According to our scouts, the Intel we received suggested the target to be a professional, or at least a very smart person to escape the military this far. With Woo and I on the case, we were both expecting the person might be one of the tougher subjects to crack for information later.

While we usually don't butt in with the military very often, the Director's curious about why General Ross has been secretive about a few things for the last three years. **_(2)_** Its usually the Intel Agencies that do the secretive work, not the military–at least not the way the General is doing right now. There has to be a reason why he's making sudden rash moves in the military when he's known to be calm before, closing in with potential military investors, and recruiting scientists along with professors. Things aren't usually this secretive, but when our division got a sniff there was something dodgy going on, Fury called everyone to keep an eye out. And the One Eyed Eagle is customarily never wrong about those hunches, especially when the info had some records of human genetic enhancements for military exploitation.

The mission started off with Woo and I in the car driving our way to the van and our team that was waiting for us at our designated location. The target had been seen running around in the poorer parts, which were perfect places for runaways, or at least people who didn't want to be found. Covert military operations were pretty active around the area of late. The public won't notice them, but they're more prone to be spotted out to us agents. How? They don't act like normal civilians–hell–they stick out like sore thumbs in the area with how their body postures are far too stiff. It's a testament how rigorous training makes the body unconsciously act in a certain way, which makes them easier to spot for us. An hour's drive from our main base in NYC, and both Woo and I finally arrived at one of our communication vans on standby.

"Stats?" I asked one of the operatives.

"No information so far on the target, Agent Sitwell." The operative replied. "The target never moves in the day or is at least hiding as a civilian around the area which we're not aware of."

Woo rubbed his chin, wondering what was going on. "You sure about that? No weird guys coming around and doing evil things? You asked around some of the local hobos too?"

The other operative or Agent Norman, responded for his partner. "Not at all Agent Woo. We've asked around and we're in a bind here, apparently the hobos call this a drifter area. They get a lot of people coming and leaving this time of year."

"Damn," I cursed. If that was the case, the target could be running out of this area right now. However, since it was in the day time that person probably won't move too much, the locals or people in the area would know if someone was acting suspicious or desperate. "Any other weird information you heard?"

"We don't have a face, but some of them said they heard some rumors of our target moving to and from a 'Bone Orchard'." Norman said in a confused tone.

I raised my own question at that, "Bone Orchard?" _What was that supposed to mean?_

"It means a graveyard." Woo answered my question and certain of it. I gave him a questioning look and was replied back with shrug, "Hobo language. A couple of years on the streets as a FBI agent and you pick can that up easily." My partner then pressed more questions. "Any ideas where the nearest graveyard is? And is the so-called 'graveyard' our target goes to is near in the first place?"

By the hesitance I saw on Norman and his partner, I was sure they had no leads on that. "No sir. We weren't aware of what the term meant at the time. The nearest graveyard isn't actually close either by foot."

Woo sighed. "That I agree with, and there are more graveyards on the outer radius of our search zone that aren't helping on locating our target. The guy must move a lot then–a real paranoid one at that and probably won't stick to consistent routes–but sticks to certain regions. Shall we ask around Sitwell?"

"No can do," I shook my head, "We're both suspicious looking as we are. The military guys will make a report on it if they noticed us snooping around. They're not supposed to know we're here. We might as well take the hunt at night when things are less easy to be spotted out."

My partner groaned. "The waiting game. Well, no point in staying here for now." Agent Woo took a glance at his watch then said, "We got another few more hours until nightfall. You want to get something to eat or drink?"

I nodded, seeing as we both missed most of lunch for the initial mission briefing. I turned to our operatives in charge of the monitoring. "Let us know if you get anything,"

"Yes sir." both of them said simultaneously.

Both of us got out of the van casually and walked silently a couple blocks away where our car was parked. It wasn't until we got inside that we spoke a word of our current mission.

Agent Woo sat in the shotgun seat, seat belt on, popped open the storage space in front and flicked through the file missions. "Honestly, we could have questioned the hobos in the area. They're a lot more perceptive than most people when it comes to what's happening on the streets."

I snorted. "That may be an idea, but we're going to stand out too much and get the mission compromised. If you were back in the FBI, I think the military would easily dismiss it off as a street case." I clicked in my seat-belt, started the engine, and drove our car towards the nearest diner I knew in the area. "Not so lucky for us, the FBI doesn't even have a case running around in our search zone. If we pull off a federal agent cover-up, they'll check us up and the mission will be compromised."

Jimmy scoffed turning more pages that were in the file, "Yeah, but we might as well get more information about the target first; because if I'm reading this file right… either some of our agents and the military suck at getting a face on a camera… or this dude is that darn good at keeping his face hidden."

"I've been wondering about that," I said my thoughts out loud, but kept my eyes on the road. "If we don't have a face, how have we kept tabs on the target? I've flipped through some of the files, and our target has no electronics on him."

"We got pictures of him wearing a few same set of clothes. But his face is covered with a hoodie, _always_ a hoodie. He's smart enough to change every once in a while. The military aren't the type to hunt down people who look like normal civilians, ya know?"

I halted the car to a stand as we reached the red traffic lights. "You think there's another reason why he's hiding his face besides he's hiding his direct identity?"

"Not that I know of, unless the dude is ugly or has a deformed face." My partner muttered without much thought. Jimmy then looked at me with a slight concern on his face, "I don't know about you, but the military seem to be really locked-on to catch this guy. I know I don't have as much clearance to know things as you do, but trust me, I think whatever our target has or knows… it's the big one."

I didn't say anything to that. He was right; this mission had to do with how Ross had his fingers tangled with a messy rumor. One rumor that he was involved in digging up something that was supposed to be privy to those of the old Science Strategic Research team.

Now the main question was: _just who was this guy we're hunting?_

* * *

_That Midnight…_

_~( Why am I on van duty again? )~_ Jimmy complained through the communicator.

I responded him with a dry tone, "We're _not_ going over this again. What part don't you understand that you still act like a cop in civilian clothes?"

He only shrugged _. ~( I can't help it. )~_

"That's the point." I muttered back. With the way our current mission required stealth and disguises, he was better off keeping an eye on my back through the other agents who were around the area.

 _~( Harsh. Real harsh man. )~_ was his fake hurt reply, which I didn't bother to reply to.

In the dark, I was following behind a mercenary that apparently the military hired. This wasn't good. If they were desperate enough to hire a third party, it meant the target was too valuable to lose and getting too hard to hunt down. The military only had so much power in assisting catching people who were usually on the list of Intel agencies. Since the guy we were all hunting down wasn't on any hit list, proved whatever General Ross knew was only known to him and his team. The idea that the general was behind some dicey project that even the CIA wasn't aware of, made my suspicions rise.

"Woo, got any visuals on the streets where the target is heading to?"

There was a longer pause on the line. _~( Seems to be an abandoned shop and old apartment area to me. We got a few of our agents around there keeping an eye out. What's the plan? )~_ he asked me.

I hurried my walking pace so I didn't lose sight of both the target and the mercenary. "Get them to do a blackout for military frequencies and any other ones our follower is using. See to it that the mercenary doesn't have any communication with Ross' hunting team. Then, get the diversion team to pull off something that the military will be inclined to get their eyes on and forget their merc."

_~( Roger that. You'll be fine until I get back to you? )~_

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm going in and take the merc down while you're at it. Hopefully I can strike a deal with our target without getting too violent."

~( Or else we're going to have a bit of fun with him in the interrogation room later. )~ said Woo finishing what would happen next if the latter didn't happen. ~( Hit the alarm if you get in trouble. )~

"Got it. I'm turning off the comm now." I said and switched off the small device that was stuck behind my ear. The closer I got to the mercenary, the gladder I was that my communication was off. For now, I didn't need any sort of noise or disturbances that would alert the hunter hunting its prey. Here, I was the observer for now–at least until the hunter strikes the prey down.

From the shadows, I followed his movements–his steps, light jogs, and even pauses–critically until they were perfectly timed with his sounds of feet and body movement. I had the advantage of being hidden to him, the eerie surroundings of the older buildings around me and dim street lights made sure of that. Backing to a wall, I peer at the hunter as he pauses at one spot taking note the target had somehow picked a lock and went into the building. The guy pauses for a second and scans around. I roll my eyes as he doesn't notice me, but I examined his paranoid periodic scans as a sign he had some professionalism to pay attention to his surroundings. He wasn't an amateur, but neither was he a full expert–that still didn't change the unpredictability of the situation–and this had to be ended quickly before things went bad.

From his coat he takes out a semi-auto hand gun and attaches a sound suppressor.

 _'Nice goin' Sitwell, ya just had ta jinx it.'_ I thought sourly. There went all sense of logic that this was going to be handled without bloodshed. I readied my own gun but didn't have a suppressor. Having this hunter here was never on my expectations list for this mission, but now it changed. My aim was to take the merc down. However, I hoped I only needed to knock the guy out and didn't scare my target in the process.

Once I had checked my ammo, the hunter goes into the building without a glance. I took it as a cue to follow, but kept my distance in case it was a deliberate trap. Yet, as I get to the door, the guy's already gone up the stairs. My eyes survey the area; most of the abandoned building's interior has been bombarded with nailed wood planks on nearly all the doors. The only place I was going to find the guy was upstairs, which hopefully, would lead me to my target for the mission. Hastily I catch up and tried not to make too much noise that would alert my enemy.

**_BANG! (3)_ **

_Damn it! Too late._

While the neighborhood would probably mistake the sound akin to a loud car door being slammed shut, at my distance to where the other two were, I clearly heard a gunshot. I cursed silently as I rushed up to the top of the brick block apartment. At the roof, I warily approached the scene with dread.

To my horror, the target was injured clutching his left shoulder on the floor and still had the merc aiming the gun at him. Like Jimmy had mentioned, the person who was our priority for the mission wore a black hoodie over his head. His face wasn't entirely visible, hidden by medium length auburn hair. Lucky enough the hunter had his back towards me; I placed the gun back in my holster behind my jacket, and took the initiative to make the first attack.

I sprinted and shortened the distance between the merc and me, swiping at his feet. He doesn't expect that, and falls to the ground with a grunt. For safety measure, I kicked his gun to the door that had led me here; it tumbles and echoes down a floor. Sadly he doesn't stay down for long.

A few seconds I let myself get distracted making sure he's weaponless, he's up and swiping punches at me. I evaded a few and successfully got in a few punches of my own. To my dismay, my opponent was a large guy. My hits weren't as effective as I thought initially. The tide turns in the wrong direction as now I was overpowered by his far stronger and desperate jabs. I hissed as a couple land on me, but I wasn't going to give up and let the mission get compromised. I soon realize that whoever the military hired was a professional merc. _Shit._ I try locking his movements with aikido, but he easily counters them with the right moves. It takes a split second before I came to my senses he throws me over the edge to my doom from five stories high. Cold fear rushes through me as I feel the air rush below.

_'NO!'_

All I heard next was a hand slapped onto my left wrist and I grunted in recoil as my fall halted.

"What?!" I shouted as I came face to face with the target. His pained eyes were focused on mine as if he was saying to _not_ let go. I hadn't had the slightest clue why he was helping me, but I was just glad I wasn't dead. The red-headed guy hisses keeping me from falling, and I felt guiltier when blood dribbles down to my arm meant he was supporting me with the shoulder that had the gun wound.

Things unfortunately don't get better.

The mercenary comes back with a vengeance and slams his foot on my rescuer's injured shoulder. I heard a muffled cry of pain, and the auburn haired man's grip loosens; but out of pure determination he keeps hold of me.

There was a chilling laughter. "So stubborn. But for how long are ya gonna keep hold?" the merc taunted. "I dunno how there was someone else lookin' for a target like you, but I think that means I can get a higher paycheck from the general."

He keeps his foot on top of the injured shoulder, but keeps on talking. I tune out any of his words and focus on the person who was trying to save me. "Do you trust me?" I whispered just loud enough for the red-head to hear.

There was hesitance for a moment before in his blue eyes, before he nods calmly without a word.

"Pull me up with what you got. I'll handle the rest. " I said as quiet as possible reaching for my own gun that was still in my holster with my free hand. He nods slightly, and grips my arm with his hand three times. ' _So it's on the count of three'_ , I thought. At the first grip, I already had my gun out. At the second, I make sure to get ready and grab the ledge to heave myself up.

On the third, I was hoisted up.

My mission target scrambles away from us, wisely getting away from our fighting area. Even though the merc was taken aback at first, he tries to punch me and I try to shoot at him. His blow misses inches from my face, my hand with my gun passes by his head, but I let out a shot. A sonorous bang echoes through the streets. I didn't hurt him, but I was sure he'd be deaf thanks to the unsuppressed gunfire blast that was released near his ear. Disoriented from the bang, he falls to his knees. I whack him from behind hard and send him tumbling to the ground. I cautiously nudge him to make sure he was out like a light, as I take in breaths to get my breathing back to normal.

That's when I got my first glimpse of what my target really looked like with his hoodie down; he was pale, had messy medium length hair that hadn't been cut in a while, but most of all he was young–really young–a _teenager_.

I gaped and gasped, "You're a _kid_?!"

He doesn't answer, instead, he stands up, staggers as he walked, and goes to what I thought was a tool shed. He opens the door. The kid points at the unconscious merc and then points into the shed. I snap myself back into reality. _Right, I was forgetting to make sure the merc wasn't an actual threat anymore._ I complied on what he suggested and threw the merc in and locked the door.

"Who are you with?" the kid asked me quietly, still holding down his shoulder wound. His eyes narrow with suspicion and his stance shows he was keeping a good distance away from me. "You're definitely not one of Ross' goons… and you don't act like you're from the police either." Even if he did help me, I couldn't help but be startled of the healthy paranoia and observation. _Smart kid._ It undeniably explained how the kid was able to avoid all forms of capture from the military.

"I'm not; I'm here to get my own information out of you. About why they're chasing you. The fact that I'm finding out you're this young isn't really helping." I said with a leveled tone.

The teen had a good poker face. It didn't hide the bitterness in his voice though. "Does it matter? You're not lying but you haven't exactly said where you're from or who you're working for." When I didn't answer him, the red-head picks up his thrown away backpack with his good shoulder, walks away, and heads inside. "I suppose I won't be getting any answers _. Ripples form on the water's surface."_

"Wait!" I called him back. He turns his head over his shoulder. "You're injured."

In turn he raises a question with an incredulous tone, "You're helping?"

"You helped me. You could have run away during the fight, but you saved me instead."

He then muttered something I didn't quite catch. "Only –cause –life–screamed—ally."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. I only did it because there's enough blood that's been spilled. I should get going."

"You're not going to get far with that sort of wound." I interjected. Then I quickly decided I'd try to negotiate with him here and now. "Tell you what, I help you what I can with that shoulder wound and we exchange stories. Fair enough?"

The teen went silent for a while. But it then gets creepier when he answers me, "You're telling the truth." He pauses for a moment and nods. "Alright. But we take it inside. This place is too open; I don't want to alert anymore of Ross' assailants that he'll most likely send after he loses contact with the one we took down."

I was silent myself wondering whether the kid could read minds or not. The logical part of my brain settled on the part he was too observant for his own good. Oppositely, the other part of my brain that agreed with my gut instinct… was giving me signs the kid could read me somehow by a sixth sense. In the end I chose to ignore my previous thoughts and focus on the mission. Kid or not, I was supposed to bring him in anyway. I agreed with the kid about Ross sending in more mercs or his men on the case. However, thanks to Agent Woo and the other operatives they probably won't be coming soon. The fact that there were no people after us after I fired an unsuppressed gunshot was proof of that.

We both go down, but the teen stops at the 4th floor and makes two turns before he gets to a door. I looked at him confusedly as the doors are nailed down by planks as well, but he fiddles around with the doorbell with a Swiss army knife. To my amazement, his picking on the simple plastic doorbell reveals that behind the doorbell there was a digital door lock.

"Doesn't seem to be touched in a while," the teen said with relief. "Now, the code number… 9…3…2…5…1…4…0."

A soot of dust falls off a larger outline that was surrounding the original bombarded door and swings around like a hidden ninja door. I gave the red-head a questioning look, "How did you know that?"

Again, I was ignored and I chose to follow him as I get inside. Once we were in, the door closes on its own. Inside, there are numerous computers; some dating from the older era, to the newer ones that were on the market. The teen boots up the modern CPU from sleep mode, but settles down on a chair. He still looks at me cautiously.

I take it as a hint to start talking. "I'm Jason Sitwell."

The teen didn't quite believe me but he nodded all the same. "An alias…You're from an Intelligence agency?" When I looked stunned at him, he pointed out, "You have a small communication piece behind your right ear."

Now it was the game of trust. I wasn't allowed to spill out too much, but I didn't want the teen to get out of my sight. I decided to give him some of the truth. "Yes, I am from an Intelligence agency. It's best that wound gets looked at, before you bleed out."

"What's your relation to General Ross?" he pressed me for information, staring me down to stay away until he got answers.

"Look kid, I'm not going to hurt you. You're already injured enough." I sighed. Then I chose to answer him, "I was sent here to sabotage Ross' intent to capture you. Now, let me help."

It takes another minute or two before the kid relents and lets me approach him. I wasn't sure how he figured out how to trust me, however with him calming down, I sighed inwardly in relief I didn't need to resort to taking the kid down in his state. The agent side of me had no qualms about it, but it would hurt my conscience in some way. Quickly, I got some clean rags that were left over in the toilet of this hidden room and went to work tying down his shoulder in a knot. Hopefully that would keep the blood pressured inside from flowing out.

"I didn't quite catch your name back there." I said, as I tightened the knot to his shoulder.

"I'm Genesis." The red-head said.

I shrugged off the fact he didn't tell me his last name. I knew he wasn't lying about his first name; it was his way of telling he only half trusted me right now. Even so, his first name was actually unique than the average Joes or Johns–a good thing when looking in the civilian database. I dragged an office roller seat for myself and sat down.

"What's the reason the military are after you?"

I think I hit a nerve as he snaps back at me, "Oh? Then how about which agency you come from first?"

"Trust me, it's a mouthful. You'll forget the minute I say it." I countered him.

"Try me."

* * *

And Goddess when the agent did say it, it was a mouthful.

"It's called the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

If he wasn't that smart or a genius in easily remembering complicated spells, Genesis was very sure he'd miss most of the words besides 'strategic' and 'division'. Thankfully he had heard of it before from his friend who was a former CIA agent. **_(4)_** It was newer than the FBI and CIA (established 'officially' in the 1970s), but the former first class wasn't sure where the agency stood. If he was correct, it was higher than the former two.

"Your division seriously needs an abbreviation to that." Genesis blurted out. **_(5)_**

"That depends who are the higher-ups." the agent said casually.

"So, what does the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division want from General Ross?" the teen asked without missing a beat. Genesis inwardly commended himself when Sitwell raised a brow he got the agent's division's name right.

"We want to know what he is doing. Especially with your case, because I'm very certain the military recruits at minimal are recruited at 17. It doesn't make sense either; they're chasing a civilian for 3 months, unless they have a good reason to." the agent in disguise said.

The agent who called himself 'Sitwell' was bulkier than most, but Genesis only guessed it was his physique that people would suspect for an NFL player. Other than that, he seemed rather athletic, bald and wore glasses. Now that he met an agent… what was he supposed to do?

It was so easier to give up right there. The former SOLDIER was dead tired of running. With his new shoulder wound he carelessly got shot upstairs, it rose up stakes in keeping himself alive. Genesis may still have his SOLDIER enhancements, but he realized the fatal mistake that there were no potions and ethers on Earth. It clearly meant he couldn't maintain his magic reserves in his body unless he got rest–something that General Ross wasn't going to give him very soon–and most of his magic was spent thanks to the near-death experiences a week earlier. He also had other injuries that the agent couldn't visibly see right now, and they too were half healing. His enhanced healing also had slowed down to a halt. After three months of running from army men and mercs who were out to catch him, Genesis was starting to reach the stamina limit of his teenager body. For the current record, he hadn't slept for the last five days. The former commander knew he was pushing it, but he wasn't given much of a choice when he had the military on his back.

When this guy came along… Jason? No, that was an alias. So when 'Agent Sitwell' came along, the Lifestream in him hummed with contentment, saying he was a friend. If he hadn't saved the man, Genesis was quite sure the Lifestream, that was a part of him, would have scolded him. Lifestream or not, this guy was still a spy of some sort. Being the more logical person and having plenty of experiences from running from the Turks in his previous life, Genesis took the practical approach of staying on guard. The Lifestream wasn't wrong and could detect any lie, it did tell him the agent had good intentions, but he needed to know something first.

"What's the catch?"

Sitwell unconsciously straightened his glasses. "That depends what you're telling us."

"If I tell you everything, will I still have my freedom?" Genesis inquired nervously. In this second life, he had lost all his hard work back in high school thanks to this military nightmare he got caught up with. All his grades and every scholarship he was offered to Ivy League colleges were long gone. This time around it wasn't even his fault to begin with, but even then, it was the end of getting a normal life on Earth. All he had left was his freedom.

The agent wasn't expecting that question. "Why are you asking that? According to our sources you haven't killed anyone."

"That doesn't change the fact you can toss me back to the army men once you're done with me." the teen retorted. "If that happens, I'll be dead along with the others."

"Others?" Sitwell asked.

Genesis breathed out heavily, and turned his attention to the CPU that was up and running. "I wasn't the only one the military tried to shut up. There were two other civilians caught up with the project Thaddeus Ross was involved with."

"Then they're dead."

"Yes." the teen's voice was mixed with guilt. He typed in the credentials that accessed the CPU.

Sitwell now was confused why the kid was in New York. "Then what's your purpose here?"

"To get the last data that was taken, out of military hands." Genesis said, going through numerous windows one after the other. His fingers blurred through the data in search of what he was asked to do. He stopped at one particular window and let the agent have a look, "See it for yourself."

**.**

_MILITARY PROPOSAL (Year 2002):_

_The Revival of Strategic Scientific Research's: Project Rebirth (The Super Soldier Serum)._

_Subject: Steve Rogers_

_Aliases: Captain America_

_Status: Believed to be deceased and frozen in the Arctic Circle_

_Description: The only successful subject that was enhanced to peak human condition. Unfortunately, Dr. Erkshine's formula was lost with his untimely death. No one has yet found how to replicate the formula. However, with the advancing technology in science and engineering of this age, we hereby propose to reactivate the project…_

**_._ **

Jasper Sitwell had stopped reading right there. He couldn't believe the military were doing this without the involvement of any other agency, especially his own. Skimming through the data he asked again, "So you're saying that this data was booted out of Ross' internal Intel?"

"Yeah."

"Who did it? You?"

"No, Edward Marshall did. He was along with me when the military were hunting us down, and with another, Tina Brown." Genesis' eyes were on the floor.

The agent took his mind back a step observing the face of the teen. It was a familiar expression he'd seen on the faces of fellow agents who lived to tell the tale of surviving a mission all alone; survivor's guilt. "Take me to the top–from the beginning–and explain from there. How do three civilians get caught up in a military project that's related to the Super Soldier Serum?"

The red-haired teen seemed doubtful the agent would believe him but said, "It started out at the largest PC game convention in Chicago about three months ago. I was there out of curiosity, and there was a real-time strategy game that was so difficult that even the best players were having difficulty with it."

Jasper wasn't sure where the kid was going with this, but he did want to know anyway. "And then?"

"What do you know about the A.I. called EYECOM or known as the Strategic and Tactical Forecaster simulator?" Genesis asked.

There was a pause as the agent mulled over it. "It's an artificial intelligence that gauges the ability of a professional military strategist. Usually it's used to examine or see the potential of– Wait– You mean the military were using in out in the open for the public?!" Sitwell gasped with disbelief. The teen wasn't even supposed to know the AI existed, and it was also only used for higher ranking strategists.

"It was disguised as a game," the teen said tiredly. Genesis rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I had the highest scores to surprise them, Tina was dragged in too getting the second highest score, and Edward…he was a hacker who happened to be around the place. He got curious when he saw people in military clothes around the place claiming they're part of a cosplaying group when they had real military IDs. Next thing we knew… we were being hunted down, or asked where we were."

"I understand that Edward already knew too much if he hacked in, but that doesn't explain what they want with you two who had highest the scores." The agent argued.

The teen grimaced, "If the super soldier serum was able to make people reach their physical peak, the military also had in mind to research on military intelligence as well. Another planned version of the serum was to create super strategists or tacticians. Bluntly put, Tina and I were selected to be their unwilling test subjects or lab rats."

"…" Jasper was too taken aback to say anything. The pieces of information from the informants about human genetic enhancements for military exploitation were true. He just never anticipated General Thaddeus Ross to use _civilians_ as test subjects.

"I was lucky enough they never caught my face on camera during the convention or after. Tina and Edward were both taken down one by one; they never even made it out of Chicago." Genesis explained looking rather distraught. "The data I have now was Edward's desperate attempt to leak the file to one of his friends who worked for a certain news agency here in New York."

Sitwell frowned at this, "What happened to his friend?"

"He got killed by the guy who nearly killed us upstairs." The teen said with regret. He shook his head, "And here we are in his secret stash of information. The reporter left me with it so the military won't get their hands on it. Most of the data that was stolen was on the three of us."

"So now that you have the data," the agent said, "What do you intend to do with it?"

The former 1st Class SOLDIER wasn't sure. "I have no idea. If I destroyed it, three people's deaths would have been in vain and I'm unsure who the right people are to hand this data over to."

That gave the opening that Agent Sitwell was looking for. "How about this…if you're willing to testify the truth along with this data, I'll try and help you out and see if the agency I work in can pull some strings to reward you for the information."

Genesis looked confused. "Why?"

"I owe you a life debt kid." The agent said like it was obvious. "I could have died from falling down, but you saved me. That's not something I take lightly. Let me call my partner through my comm and make arrangements so we can get outta here. I promise you that you can get out of this military goose chase and start over."

Again, Genesis listened to what the Lifestream had told him there and then. Urging him to go with the man, he agreed. "Alright, let me get all the data first. I'll hold to that promise."

The former commander put all of his efforts in making sure that the data he had on the Super Serum was intact. Three people had died so he could reach here, and Genesis had enough people dying one after another this year. He shook his head frantically snapping himself to focus he'd finish this – if he was going to have the emotional breakdown of his life this time around… he might as well do it in a hospital. Now he had an agent that was willing to help him get through this crap. The teen cursed as he was starting to feel weaker than he had in days – his injury was getting worse too.

Black spots now clouded his vision.

_Damn._

As the agent negotiated and talked over the communicator with his partner 'Agent Woo', Genesis did his best to not collapse on the floor. With the all data transferred into a microchip, he took it out and set for all the data in the CPU to be deleted. The moment he gave the chip to the agent, he was out like a light.

* * *

**_Back to the Present…_ **

A block from your destination seems a lot further than you think when you have some military personnel after your head, a backpack to carry, and an unconscious teenager that was bleeding and hanging onto life. It wasn't the most life-threatening mission I went on, but it was by far the most closest I would get in compromising a mission. I was hoping that the other agents could at least cover the both of us until we get to the car. Failure wasn't really an option, and if Genesis died… I was sure we'd hear only half of the real story of General Ross.

It could have been simple to just ditch the teen's bag and leave it there. However with the circumstances that the military weren't supposed to find out who Genesis was, made it a mistake to leave any evidence behind. At least the kid was a light packer. So when I heaved over to the window, and started climbing down the railing stairway, it helped a great deal that there wasn't too much weight in the bag. With the kid over my shoulder, I soon found out he was lighter than I expected–most likely he didn't eat much–because the military wouldn't stop hunting the kid down and let him rest. At the same time, I kept an ear open out for a group of people that was supposed to be behind my back.

It was quiet.

Good.

With what strength I have left, I carried down the kid but kept to the shadows. The less visual they have on me, the better it was. If they had night vision goggles then I was screwed. What had felt like hours of take short brakes, hiding, scanning the area and approaching the car a couple of times, we both finally made it into the car. With the keys hidden in an external special compartment, I laid the kid inside the car and got myself in the driver's seat. The darkened windows would hide us, but it won't necessarily make us disappear. Heaving out tired breaths, and making sure that the seat-belt was secure for the both of us, I tried to wake the kid up.

"Genesis?" I tugged his uninjured shoulder gently. "You okay there? Talk to me."

He groans in pain and tries to focus his vision but fails. "Not OK… You're…Sitwell… but… can hear…you."

"At least you can hear me. Try to stay awake as long as you can, OK?" I said back in slight relief. He nods weakly; he doesn't say anything back to me and focuses on his own breathing.

My heart races when I spot out a couple of flashlights through rear-view mirror of the car. My hand automatically latches onto the car key that was already slotted in. I gulped and a bead of sweat pours down the side of my face, as now a group of military garbed men were getting closer. Out of making a break for it or hiding, I wasn't sure what to do. If I made a run for it, it would be too suspicious–the car was a bigger target and I might get my own identity in jeopardy. Then there was the option if I waited them to pass, but there was a small chance that we'd be searched if they were thorough. To my dismay that night, they were going through a thorough search.

 _~( Sitwell? )~_ my communicator flared to life. _~( You still alive buddy ol' pal? )~_

I thanked any god out there that Jimmy was online again in the nick of time. "I'm alive–but screwed in less than a minute. I going to drive out–"

_~( Don't do it! )~_

"Are you crazy?!" I hissed back.

 _~( Whoa! Easy! )~_ Woo said with a snap. _~( If you drive that car right now, you're going to be target locked by them. We got two fake cars zooming your way. They're bait, once I say the go, drive normally a few blocks to the east and head for the rendezvous point. )~_

"Well the fact that you're talking so casually means you got out of trouble." I muttered still keeping my eyes on the soldiers closing in.

There was a snort heard on the line. _~( Well, the army guys aren't too smart like the merc they sent in to hunt the kid. Speaking of a merc, he's going to be extracted by some of ours so he disappears. )~_

Just as the soldiers were going to check our car, two cars zoom in and let out gun shots. The military fire back at them; made chase when the two cars screeched and zoomed off out of vision. Orders were barked to track down the agents who created the diversion. They think the target is in the cars, and forgot their mercenary completely. It takes another five to ten minutes for them to get to their own vehicles and leave the scene.

 _~( You're clear to proceed Agent Sitwell. )~_ said Woo after the long silence.

I turn the engine on and drive normally out of the area. On the inside I felt like I really wanted to bolt out of the area. Genesis' focused breaths before were now far too quiet for my liking. "Woo, can you get the medical team to move to a nearer location than the rendezvous point? The kid's not going to last long at this rate."

_~( Negative. We don't have authorization. Just another block more and you can make way for the streets. You better hurry Jasper. )~_

"You don't need to tell me twice." I said, determined to save the kid.

Once I was out of the danger zone, I slammed my foot on the gas pedal.

* * *

_**TBC...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia:
> 
> (1) Agent Blake is a serious agent, who tends to do everything by the book, leaving no space for creativity - somewhat similar to Agent Maria Hill. He makes his first appearance in Marvel's One-Shot: Item 47 working alongside Agent Sitwell. – Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia.
> 
> (2) According to the MCU Timeline, General Thaddeus Ross revived the super soldier project in the Year 2002, four years before the Incredible Hulk starts (Year 2006). This fic takes place a year before Doctor Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk for the first time.
> 
> (3) Gun suppressors only suppress the sound of a gun and rifle and do not (like in Hollywood movies) silence them completely. At a half mile radius, it would have made a difference. At a closer distance 6-30 feet, the gunshot can still be heard clearly.
> 
> (4) Genesis Rhapsodos hears the existence of SHIELD from a former CIA agent named Robert in the prequel fanfic: 'A Part that Remains'.
> 
> (5) The SHIELD abbreviation was not created until the events after Iron Man (2008), where Tony mentions to Agent Coulson the longer version of the division's name was too tedious to remember.


	2. PART II

* * *

_**~ Introductions: Agent Jasper Sitwell PART II ~** _

_Real Name: Jasper Sitwell_

_Aliases: Jason Sitwell_

_Identity Status: SHIELD Agent, Level 5 Interrogator._

* * *

In the years to come, Ross' sabotage mission would be a lesson for me: a mission doesn't end until _everything_ is wrapped up. Wrapped up, as in the mission was declared 'officially closed' by mission analysts, and not by logical reasoning. Reality wasn't always reasonable–and liked yanking the carpets under people's feet–which was the perfect description to my current situation.

I had let my guard down.

As I drove the car through numerous roads thinking that the chase was over from Ross' assailants, from the rear mirror I saw clearly two suspicious 4x4 vehicles tailing me. I knew immediately they weren't from my division or the military. One, they weren't uniformed; two, they didn't look exactly new; and three, it dawned on me these people who were chasing me are the other mercenaries that Agent Woo's team distracted momentarily.

"Jimmy?" I asked over the comm in slight panic, still keeping my eyes on road. "I got company; explanations?"

 _~( They've updated their frequencies. )~_ my partner's voice said over line with dread. _~( I think they're the smarter mercs. We have people trying to scramble their comms– It's not working. )~_

I took a sharp turn down the road. I was near to my destination, but circumstances forced me to go another direction.

"We won't be able to get to the rendezvous point or the base at this rate," I said, warning Woo. The last thing I wanted was to let them know where our ops were coordinated from. I briefly glanced at Genesis, and then back in getting away from our hunters, "Our target's silent." I didn't want to guess Genesis was alive or not. Not after getting so far.

 _~( I'm going in. )~_ His voice had a finality tone to it. _~( Try to keep losing their tail. I'm getting a team to you. )~_

What the hell was he planning?!

"Jimmy–"

 _~(Jasper, you can't get to our bases and our target isn't getting any better.)~_ Woo said very hurriedly, in the background sounds of people mobilizing. _~( I'm bringing backup and the doctors to you–Stay alive for me? )~_

At the same time, my luck goes from worse to utter desperation as two more cars join in the fray. "You're paying the tab when we eat out next time; it's going to be expensive," I breathed out, failing to keep my tone positive. "I got two more on me."

 _~( Deal. Keep living till I get to you. We're–)~_ The comm abruptly cracks and goes quiet.

_God damn it, not now._

My mind immediately told me the mercs were so good that they had our communications out. The only lucky thing I thought about this situation: there were so few people out that night. The way they recklessly drove through the streets (even as to take the sidewalks), I was very sure there could have been casualties. They tried to ram and lock my car into a capture formation a few times. Most of the attempts failed, only by very lucky timing. One car loses momentum in a sharp swerve through a tight alley and crashes into wall. There was no time to think what happened to it.

One down, three to go.

I wasn't sure when the next one was down–I was too focused on driving– but I was starting to feel relieved as black SUVs with eagle logos pinned one of the 4x4s and led it away from me. The new team Agent Woo promised was catching up. While I was thinking things were getting better, they weren't. Now that the mercs realized that they had people after them too, they were more desperate to get me. They sped up, abandoning any logical sense of safety and their cars speed up surrounding mine. Everything after, happened in a blink of an eye.

A forceful slam of the remaining 4x4 car in the left rear sends my car into a spin and everything blurs. This time, I hit the brakes and did what I could with the steering wheel so the car doesn't flip over. However, my car collides into the other smaller merc's car. That unlucky car crashes into a wall pinned by my car's front hood, cracked glass flies into the air, and out of reflex I cover myself. When things are silent, it takes me a minute or perhaps two to snap out of the daze. I check and move my body parts for sign of injuries, only to find I was spared with mostly scrapes and bruises. I pop the seat-belt open. My heart was still hammering in my chest and my instincts told me I still had a charge to protect.

Was the kid even still alive?

Time wasn't merciful with me now. At the same time I was thinking of Genesis' life, a merc is already at my car door. He probably thought I passed out since he was calmly going to open the door and I hadn't moved from my seat. It was my chance. Just as he opens it, I kick the door and he shrieks out loud, which buys me time to get the gun the merc has in his hand. Our fight was short though, whether out of stupidity or accident, during our scuffle to fight over his gun, he pulled the trigger and it hits his own neck. His body drops down soulless to the ground.

Still breathing hard, I look around me, glancing at the dead merc in front of me, then at his car. His 'partner' at the steering wheel was also dead, crushed by the collision beforehand. The last 4x4 car was strangely absent from vision. I shook my head out of the thought. _The kid–I need to save him._ I rushed to Genesis' door, opened it, and take him carefully out. I laid him down and gently shook him on his uninjured shoulder to get him awake. He doesn't speak, but I was reassured he was alive as he moans.

"Hang in there; we're getting out of this alive." I said, more so to convincing myself than the kid. Unfortunately, of all the convincing I did, bright lights beamed out behind me and the 4x4 is there with three people coming out and armed.

I cursed at myself for being distracted and stood between them and Genesis. Checking myself, I winced realizing my handgun was missing; I must've lost it back in the crash. I thought of getting the gun from the one who attacked me, but the idea was shot down. I remembered he emptied his bullet clip in the attempt to murder me. Backup was nowhere in sight, and communications non-existent.

' _Sitwell, you're so dead,'_ I thought grimly, even if inwardly I swore to myself I wasn't going down without a fight.

* * *

**.**

**.**

Despite feeling weak and his body felt like someone tied metric ton weights on them, Genesis was partially conscious at some points of time. He couldn't actually see clearly–his eyes stubbornly refused to keep open due to sheer exhaustion–but he could hear his surroundings somewhat. He vaguely remembered Sitwell carrying him to a car and shaking him to make sure he was alive. Also while he wasn't sure, the loud noise of the car engine, breaks, and exploding crash gave idea things turned out for the worst. Genesis let out a painful weak moan when someone shook him awake again.

"Hang in there; we're getting out of this alive." Was Sitwell's voice, trying to reassure him?

Under normal circumstances, that reassurance would have given him hope. Instead, the Lifestream was giving cautionary signals like someone scraped their nails to a blackboard, painfully reminding him they were in serious trouble. Out of raw determination, the former SOLDIER opened his eyes to see the area was dark and blurry, but Sitwell stood defensively in-between the armed hunters. There was no indication Sitwell looked like he was going to give up. Genesis' heart felt cold as this scene looked painstakingly too familiar. At this rate, if the agent wasn't careful, Genesis would have another death on his hands.

Sitwell on the other hand was probably a good actor. The agent had led the mercs on false hope he was giving up without any signs of fighting back at first. However, given the chance the mercs closed the distance; the bald agent chose to fight his way out. One merc who had the tranquilizer gun on Genesis was speedily taken out of the fight in seconds; his weapon tumbled to the ground. It left the agent to fight with the last two mercs.

As the confrontation played out before him, Genesis swore he never felt so useless in his life. He was literally dead weight; with no magic and any energy his enhancements had were depleted. All he could rely now was what the Lifestream told him what was happening no thanks to his blurry vision. To Genesis' horror, Sitwell was losing. The agent was not only out-numbered, but out-matched and now fighting desperate mercs. The next second, Sitwell was on ground after getting a knee hit to his stomach reeling and gasping for life.

"Hurry up; we're going to get company at this rate. Get the 'cargo'", the taller merc said pointing straight at Genesis. When the other merc tried to approach the injured teen, Sitwell shuffled himself up and crawled looking very determined to get their attention off of their supposed cargo.

The shorter merc hesitates. "What about him? He might come from a rival group of our boss."

"I'll take care of him," the taller one growled. "He's good as dead." Not wanting to waste more time, he aimed his weapon at Sitwell and took aim.

As Genesis watched the events unfold, he searched frantically around of any way or anything he could use to help the agent with panic fueling him. The moment he spotted the object that gave the opportunity, he dove at it.

* * *

**.**

**.**

For not the first time that night, I thought I was going to die in the current mission. I even was already imagining my name plastered to the Wall of Valor on every large base that my intelligence division had. _**(1)**_ I was in no position to run, Genesis was in no condition to move, and when my enemy aimed the gun at me I feared the worst.

A gun shot blasted and echoed.

I had expected pain and even blood, but when I blink, there's shockingly no pain. It's the taller merc who was about to shoot me collapses down unceremoniously.

'What happened back there?!' I asked in thought; my brain was still trying to catch up.

I got my answer when the other merc snapped at Genesis, who held a tranquilizer gun. "You fuckin' little shit! You're _dead_!"

Another sonorous bang echoes on the road, this time it spills blood. I was able to heave out my held breath as it was the last merc that tumbles down to the floor. Further down the road, Agent Woo's out of his black SUV with his gun out. For that moment, I felt like hugging and apologizing to the guy who I didn't always trust my life on the field. A few more cars join his, and it was clear the cavalry was here.

"You guys alright there?" Woo asks making his way to us looking disheveled. He stopped approaching me when we heard the click of an aimed gun which was coming from Genesis sitting on the ground. The kid looked delirious, tired, and even fear passes through his eyes despite keeping up a serious face. It was amazing he was conscious at all, but his aim was shaking. He wasn't sure Jimmy was really a threat or not. Perhaps he was running on instinct and adrenaline to the point of thinking anyone approached us were the people chasing him. If I were in his shoes, I'd pretty much be just as confused and scared, if not more so.

Looking sympathetically towards to Genesis, I tried to calm him down. "Genesis, he's a friend. He's my partner Agent Woo; the one I talked over the comm back at the hiding place I found you at. You can put the gun down."

The teen ignores me, and I was even more concerned he started to hyperventilate and his eyes wildly darted to those behind Woo, who were getting their weapons out as well.

Jimmy realized his mistake immediately and signaled for everyone to back off with their weapons. Thankfully, no one goes against his orders. He put the safety lock on his gun and tosses it at a good distance where Genesis could see it. "You're safe kiddo; we're the good guys. Those mercs aren't going after you again." His voice was calmer than I had ever seen him on the field.

"You're… a cop?" Genesis asks gasping heavily.

There was a slight pout and disappointment that Woo clearly let the teen see. He looked like he was going to say he was a formerly from the FBI but stopped himself. Genesis was certain proof of bystander who would mistake him for a cop even with a civilian disguise. I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

Jimmy slapped a hand on his own forehead, "As embarrassingly my partner has pointed out to me numerous times–yeah, you can say I am in a way."

The kid then tossed his gun away to everyone's relief, but his breathing intensified.

"Genesis?!" I shouted.

Woo immediately dove to his his knees and grabbed the teen's falling body before he hit his head on the tarmac. The teen's body broke into spasms. "He's in shock. Medical! We need medics, NOW!"

For the first time I've worked in my intel division I was shocked how I was rooted to spot. Never mind the medics that were racing around doing what they needed to do; somehow I didn't really register the people around me. I had my fair share of horrible missions, but this was the first time it felt personal. It was actually Woo that got me back to my senses. I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding. When I came to my senses, the medics were already moving the kid to our ambulance van. The rest cautiously guarded and got ready to escort it.

"How long did I clock out?" I questioned him, my voice feeling dry all of a sudden. My body felt like jelly as Woo had an arm around my shoulder, supporting me to sit upright

He passed me a water bottle looking worried at me. "One or two minutes, give or take." He doesn't ask, and probably knows better than to ask outright how I was feeling.

I gladly take the bottle from him and gulped down water twice before I spoke, "I… I can't really believe it."

My words make him curious and confused, "What can't you believe?"

"He saved my life _twice_." I said, emphasizing the last word. "Then the data we got from the hiding place… Those dead people who were killed by the mercs before… the kid doesn't deserve it."

Jimmy nodded looking a little furious himself over the situation. "The bastards are doing it for money anyway," he sighed. He gives a serious look at me that we weren't supposed to talk about the details here. "Come on, Sitwell. Let's get you in the car with me. You can check with doctors back at the base. I get the feeling you'll want some peace and quiet before the medical team hounds you."

Trust Woo to actually keep a level-headed attitude in a disturbing situation, I guess that was his strength. I guess he's seen so many bad things like this or worse when he worked for the FBI.

"Right," I agreed. Before I leave the area and the cleanup crew are due to arrive, I open the car door and grab Genesis' bag. There might be something we could learn about him in it.

* * *

_**Later… ~** _

Back at base, Medical went over me and cleared me that I was good to be still walking around on base. Woo eyed the bandages that covered my numerous small scrapes and wounds like a mother hen. He didn't comment on them, but I understood Jimmy was slightly frightened he could have lost me twice that night; and at one point he was nearly too late to help. I shook my head and waved him off giving the message my injuries weren't bothering me anymore. We still have work to do. We couldn't wait to know how Genesis was doing in the ER until the medical team lets us.

"Did you get anything from the system?" I asked him as he had dug information while I had my medical check-up.

On the large screen, Jimmy pulls out the files from their sources and enlarges it to the screen. "Genesis Rhapsodos, sixteen years old, and from Chicago, Illinois; no known direct family. Says here he's a street kid who wandered till he got accepted into a youth community for being really smart. Very 'recent' high school graduate, straight 'A' student." He then heaved, "He's filed in an acceleration program and is pretty successful he's got six Ivy League colleges who want him. We've got reports he's been missing about three months or so from his foster home. It's about the same time when Ross' activities spiked up and supports the fact he's traveled all the way from where he lives to where we found him."

"And the others?"

Woo lists off everything about Tina Brown, Edwards Marshall both also being exceptional genius college students and both reported missing the same time Genesis was. The last name I was surprised at was 'Dave', which Genesis only described briefly that he was murdered earlier this month.

"You mean the 'Dave' Genesis mentioned is actually Dave Robinson from the Daily Globe?" I asked very surprised. _**(2)**_

So the reporter who died was more famous than I thought. I was very aware the media was spreading the news he was killed off due to some conspiracy with those large corporates from something like Oscorp. _**(3)**_ Dave was known to dislike their 'research' and wrote the bulk of protest articles in the Daily Globe. In the end the big company refused they had anything to with it. Since there was also a lack of any evidence to the crime, the case had been floating about with no answers.

"Well, there's no other 'Dave the reporter' that died this month here in New York," Jimmy pointed out. He then opened up more files on the homicidal reports. "I've checked with my channels, local police and asked around from friends back in FBI. The details are getting spookier now since the crime scene was very _clean_ of evidences. I mean clean as in you need CIA level cleanup methods. It suggests what they're hiding had high stakes. So the questions are: why did they went into trouble chasing a couple of kids with high IQs or smarts and even killed a revered reporter? On top of that, why send in military personnel and mercs? It doesn't take a genius it is overkill for normal intel."

I didn't say anything to what the 'intel' truly had meant. I was very sure it was worth killing for; it had been since World War II anyway. There were a lot of people who would do anything to get their hands on another version of the Super Soldier Serum; government or otherwise. Other than that, Dave Robinson was known to be a very credible reporter where he got his resources for his writings. If he managed to get the story out, Ross' military career would have been done for.

"As for the people we captured," Jimmy said, getting my attention back, "they're up for interrogation, waiting in their cells as soon as we're good to go. We also have parts of the investigation team on the evidence we're cleaning up on the streets."

I blinked at the new information, "How many of the mercenaries do we have imprisoned?"

"Two," my partner muttered irritably. "The one you locked up in the shed, and the one Genesis shot with the tranquilizer. The others are dead."

"What? Weren't there more?" I asked puzzled.

"Some of them went suicidal before we got to them. Crazy bastards had cyanide capsules planted in-between their teeth! What is this?! World War 2?!" My partner scoffed as he ranted. "Those mercs were single specialists cocktail-ed together by General You-Know-Who. We don't have any records of them working with each other before." Woo explained. "That smart ass Ross. As long as nothing military is sniffed back at him, he's safe from us."

"What about the-"

"Military guys?" he finished my question and at the same time rolled his eyes. "They disappeared, probably ran with tails between their legs thinking we're another merc group who wanted a piece of the cake. The military communications line that Ross is using for his sketchy ops has gone silent–for now."

I sighed. "We're only going to get more questions than answers at this rate."

"Accurate conclusion, Jasper, but something tells me you know more than I do."

"Considering it's a Level 5 and perhaps over, I need to consult the higher ups for this." I warned my partner, seeing he had only a Level 3 clearance.

"It's that bad?" He asked me with an incredulous look. When I didn't answer him, Jimmy shrugs, "Maybe I'm better off not knowing."

I shook my head. "It's your case too. I'll need your help on this."

A knock from the door alerts us and when we answer it's the main doctor who was part of the medical staff.

"Doctor… Marge Francis?" Jimmy asks, as he read her name tag. "You have good news I hope?"

The elder doctor looked like she had run a marathon around New York, making me realize she most likely had just finished her work. She sighed, "He's stable, at least for now. We're going to keep an eye on him in the ICU until we're sure he's not going to the 'other' side. I'm not sure how he made it out alive, but he's a fighter. We were very afraid he wouldn't make it. He gave my staff and I a few scares."

"How bad was it?" I questioned. Quickly I added, "If you don't mind us asking that is."

"Well, besides the obvious gunshot wound, he has injuries suggesting he was beaten previously and they've partially healed. There are also signs of malnutrition; an indication he hasn't ate much in a long while. He's suffered from severe exhaustion and on top of it all off, blood loss." Marge said listing off the main things, but then she dropped the bomb on both of us. "I'm going to be blunt with the both of you. It's best to hold any questions off until Genesis is better and I mean a few days at least. It's miraculous he survived at all."

Jimmy looked perplexed. "You're saying like he died–"

"He flat-lined on my operation table three times, possibly topping the Division's record, Agent Woo," the doctor interrupted coldly. "We were on the verge of thinking he wouldn't make it."

My partner shuts up immediately looking shocked by the news. I took it upon myself to get her attention away from him. "Is there any information we can provide that can help his recovery?"

"You can send his medical files to me if you've found them. Also… does he have any emotional trauma we should be aware of?" She asked me, seeing I had spent a longer time with Genesis on the mission.

"Survivor's guilt is what I know of," I said to her. "The people who were after him have killed everyone else he was with."

"And they nearly killed you too, Jasper," my partner not-so-helpfully mentioned.

I was only glad Dr. Francis eyed at me and looked appeased as I was already treated for my injuries. Her body language still gave me a feeling she didn't approve I wasn't resting. Nonetheless, she had her priorities on Genesis' recovery first. Facing me, she questions me again, "How many?"

"Three."

She nodded solemnly and advised us to rest for tomorrow, leaving us in a haunting silence.

"I think we should give this case a rest for a few hours of sleep." Woo said as his raked his black hair back and tiredly scrunched his eyes.

I didn't disagree with his suggestion; my body and mind wanted that respite quite badly. "See you in the morning?"

"I think we'll settle it near lunch?" My partner pointed out it was 4:45 AM in the morning. Time flies very fast in a heated investigation.

"Near lunch it is," I said. We both were sleeping at the base anyway. There was no reason we wouldn't know if anything happened to Genesis. "I'm going to send an email to the higher ups to give you temporary access to what I have first." I told my partner.

He grunts in agreement. "Fine, I don't want to hear or even see you were near a computer after that." Soon after, Woo disappears out the door; but that's not without giving me a very stern look at me he was ready to drag me out of my office if I gave him the reason to.

* * *

**.**

**.**

That afternoon, things at the base didn't start quietly. To both the surprise of Agent Woo and I, Genesis was awake and didn't take it too kindly to being in a hospital bed and with doctors in his room. To sum things up, he had a rather rude awakening and the doctors were in a fight for a very violent patient. When we arrived, the hospital room was a mess with the furniture and object tossed around like some war zone. Most of the doctors were at one side, and in the corner of the room was the teen curled up on the defensive looking very tense and glaring anyone to keep their distance away from him. It was a good thing we made it to his room in time, Genesis seemed very determined to drag himself out of there if he needed to with a scalpel in his hand, despite his frail condition.

It's my partner that peels off of me and gets the doctors a slightly further distance away from the kid. I gave Jimmy a thankful look and proceed to approach Genesis by crouching, at his eye-level.

"Genesis?" I asked, keeping my voice low but enough he could hear me. The redhead looks at me, but he doesn't completely lose his sight on the doctors.

He noticed something with me he hadn't seen before. "You're… wearing… a suit?" He asks with tired voice. At a time like this, I was bewildered that happened to be his first question.

"Well, it's like you've guessed. I'm from an intelligence agency." I said keeping my voice casual, while at the same time I fidgeted with one part of my suit where a small recording device was and turned it on. Genesis' eyes though, were back to the doctors. I answered his inner questions,

"They're with us, and you have nothing to be afraid of."

His body language doesn't change nor does his let the scalpel out of his right hand. Still he looks to me in apology, "Sorry, I… had a bad nightmare." He breathes out trying to calm himself as if trying to shake of the fear he had in him. "I thought they caught me… you were dead… And I was… at their mercy…"

' _I should have stayed here',_ I thought, feeling like an idiot. Understandably, Genesis was clearly in a position he wouldn't trust anyone after what he went through, and the violent reaction proved that. I needed to get him to calm down more and his thoughts away from the doctors. "When was the last time you ate?"

The teen blinked and hesitated. "I'm not sure… Tuesday, I think?" Genesis then wiped his eyes in trying to fight to stay awake and fend off exhaustion while giving paranoid glances at the doctors now and then. His body was trembling, still breathing irregularly.

"When was the last time you really slept properly?" I asked again ignoring my own inner turmoil at the fact the kid hadn't ate for three days before I met him.

Genesis showed no signs he was giving up on trying to avoid going off into unconsciousness, "Five days ago… I managed to get cat naps in-between. The mercs were merciless… they wouldn't let me sleep. They hunted me down with shifts."

"Do you want some rest?" I asked the obvious, but Genesis needed the reassurance I was the one offering it. My guess was right.

"Yes… but…"

"They're good people," I encouraged the teen. "How about I let know you who they are and you can rest easy after?"

He nods in agreement reluctantly and he lets go of the scalpel he has in hand. At the same time, when I try to help him get back on the bed he leans heavily on me. Woo is probably the only other person the kid lets come close to him. Another tense half an hour later, Genesis is on the bed thankfully his bandaged shoulder wasn't disturbed and the doctors are cleaning up. Unfortunately, the teen doesn't sleep even after I introduced everyone that was taking care of him. Dr. Francis hovers near us, but not near Genesis enough to make him feel uncomfortable or twitchy. It takes another fifteen minutes to convince Genesis was in good hands and that the doctors would give him a sleeping sedative to let him rest in a dreamless sleep.

"You can trust me too, kid." Woo said like he really meant it. "You saved my partner's life twice, and if you're going to get better, you need sleep."

"Dr. Francis is one of our best doctors around here." I added. I pointed out, "She's a close friend to one of my colleagues. If anything's wrong, she'll let me know."

With a weaker nod, Genesis doesn't resist to keep his eyes open this time around. Dr. Francis injects the sedative, sending the teen into a blissful sleep. "He'll be out for another few hours, or perhaps a whole day." She said to both me and Jimmy. She sighed as she tucked the kid's blanket carefully, "Although, I would not be surprised if he slept longer."

The three of us were silent for a while, until something came to my mind. "Dr. Francis?"

"Yes?"

"Did you find out anything about Genesis from his medical files; perhaps something out of the norm?" I questioned her.

She pauses over a moment rubbing her chin. "Nothing's wrong with it, and all his blood results don't show anomalies."

When I let out a sigh of relief, it makes Agent Woo curious. "What's wrong Sitwell?"

"Mostly everything we're handling regarding Ross," I replied. When I hear a beep from my pocket I flip it open to see the email I had been waiting for. "The good news is both of you and I have temporary Level 6 clearance for this mission alone," I showed Agent Woo and Dr. Francis my email from the higher ups.

Both of my colleagues were apprehensive to hear and see it. Dr. Francis didn't hide her anxiousness, since she probably heard that in the Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, it was a rarity for doctors or scientists to have such a clearance level. Even if there were special cases, that was because they oversaw government sensitive research or held medical records over people who had high ranking positions. Jimmy, on the other hand, probably had his own reasons. Unlike most of us who knew how things worked in the Division, he was mostly called in to do the technical works of the interrogation and investigation parts of specific cases as well as missions. He usually avoided anything to do with internal affairs if he had to, claiming he wasn't interested in the inner politics of our intelligence agency despite being held in high regard by Director Fury himself.

It's Dr. Francis that spoke first. "If the information is crucial to the survival and well-being of my patient, I'll be glad to help you, Agent Sitwell."

"Agent Woo?" I ask my partner.

My partner sighed a little, but his attitude changed. "Well, I owe the kid my partner's life. I suppose it's alright to know a little bit what's going on the inside, if it helps and closes the mission. We can expect some things to shock us, right?"

"I wish it was that simple," I said shaking my head. "You have no idea how crazy it really sounds."

For safety's sake, we moved to the doctor's office. It's in there that I took out the files that have been partially decoded by the data analysts on the chip that Genesis as well as the deceased risked their lives for. I explained to them about everything I learned that night at the abandoned flats; I told them about how Genesis became involved with military project that was trying to open a way to make the Super Soldier Serum again, but with a variant for people with positions as strategists and tacticians. I also stated that Genesis reacted the way he did to the doctors because he had thought he became what he had feared: a lab experiment.

Unlike Woo, who still trying to digest the part of Genesis nearly being caught and turned into lab rat, it's the doctor who spoke first. "I'm certain there isn't anything wrong with our patient, or else it should have been shown in his blood analysis. However, we can perform extensive tests later when Genesis stabilizes," she said and noted on her notepad. "Is there anything else?"

Woo was now back to himself again. He answered, "Drop the white coats for you and your staff, if you can, wear the green ones. I think Genesis reacted violently because he thought he was in a lab."

"Noted, Agent Woo."

"And also, Doctor, when Genesis regains consciousness later; please make sure either Agent Sitwell or I or even yourself is the first one present," my partner reminded her. "At least the kid won't feel as threatened and we can prevent things from getting too violent."

She nods again and then asked her last question, "Any final requests before you both go?"

"Nothing else," I answered. "Just give us updates every 4 hours on how Genesis is doing."

"Very well."

* * *

**.**

**.**

Hours later, I got out of the communications room and held a folder in my hands what the data analysts had found on the chip Genesis had provided with us. So far, what Genesis said was true, and the analyst team said they'd try to decode everything while Woo and I did the main investigating the old fashioned way.

The main investigation room was more like a warehouse of sorts. The destroyed cars and everything else we could provide as physical evidence was collected in one place with multiple small team of forensic experts working on them. I made my way through the hustle and bustle of agents to find Woo examining things that were inside Genesis' backpack.

"Well, Agent Sitwell, looks like we've got ourselves one heck of a tactician," Woo waved me over with what seemed to be very extensive doodled maps. "Take one look at these maps, and I think you'll see that they want the kid so badly… and the fact his scores can be higher than the average ops officer."

The maps left me stunned; I wasn't expecting the amount of detail was put into it. Potential places to hide, previous places he hid before, marked places where the mercs were spotted, different routes figured out to outrun the mercs, enemy communications posts, were just a few from many I could see at a glance. All in all, the maps had complicated plans I'd imagine to see on a war table by a professional strategist, not a teenager. This sort of work was something I expected from someone who worked in our intelligence division in our Operations department.

"It's definitely the kid's doing; we've found his fingerprints all over the map." Woo explained while I was mostly still trying to process what Genesis was capable of. He then opened a couple of windows on screen of a nearby computer station, "We've matched his handwriting from other sources."

While it did prove the kid was very resourceful, the situation still begged one question. "Woo, this kid doesn't have military history, much less military roots – at least of what we know from the system. How does he even know how to plan like this?"

My partner shrugged, "He's genius level kid?"

"Thank you for mentioning the obvious." I deadpanned. Sure, the world had its fair share of geniuses like Tony Stark or anyone from the Science and Tech Department, but military knowledge like this wasn't as open-sourced like science.

Jimmy sighs, "Alright, if that's not the case," he gestured to the maps, "then how about the kid is a genius and someone who's a mastermind in military tactics taught him… a historian?"

"Plausible, but we're not in the know who may be Genesis' teacher," I agreed yet I didn't really buy the historian suggestion. Learning tactics isn't exactly just taught straight from textbooks; there needed to be a mentor of sorts for that knowledge transfer; someone who had real hands on experience. "I'm gonna have to say his teacher was very good in the practical, since Genesis has shown how to apply his knowledge in a real life scenario. So sorry Woo, the historian theory is out."

At my statement, Woo blinked for a moment as if he came to realize something. "Say, I think I remember that the girl, Tina Brown, had a relative from the army." He opens up a file on the screen and searches through her family tree. "We've got a hit. Says right there: her uncle is part of the Army Rangers. His specialty is special reconnaissance. She has a personal website with numerous photos suggesting that she was close to her uncle."

"That only explains where Tina gained her knowledge of tactics from, which is good we have an answer to that," I said. "However, the scores that Genesis has from the EYECOM artificial intelligence analyzer program were recorded at the same time when the game convention started. It doesn't explain where he acquired his knowledge from."

Agent Woo grunted with disappointment at my valid argument, but kept scrolling down the details about Tina Brown. After five minutes of me shuffled through the papers on the desk on the subject of Edward Marshall, he poked my shoulder.

"What?"

"Sitwell, I'm very sure that attachment with the extra tab wasn't on her profile before. Even with sleep deprivation, I have a good memory of remembering what's on suspect profiles." Jimmy pointed out he had years of experience doing what he did in the FBI.

At his words, I took time to see what he'd meant. The tab he mentioned had a 'Level 5' text highlighted red and a letter 'R' next to it.

"Oh."

"So it means something to you?" Woo asked surprised, knowing I knew what it was.

The room suddenly felt colder even without the change of temperature; the mystery behind this sabotage mission was getting more eerie by the second.

"It means it's a recruitment tab. We didn't get this information before because the HR subdivision restricts recruitment files to our spy school or academy only to Level 5 personnel," I explained to him. _**(4)**_ "Apparently, since you logged in with your credentials, the information didn't show up. Also, you weren't cleared with Level 6 clearance for this mission back then."

"So Ms. Brown over here was actually a potential to join the Operations department," he said rather disturbed keeping his voice down. Even so, Woo doesn't stop there, out of curiosity he clicks on Edward's digital profile of what the system has. To our shock there's also the same 'R' letter on his profile, only this time his profile was noted towards the Communications department.

My partner gave a concerned glance at me. "Do our enemies make targets of 'potential' recruits?" he inquired incredulously. Woo probably thought like I did, none of it made sense.

"Not that I ever heard of," I replied grim. "It's the reason why recruitment details are left to those with a higher clearance. As far as I'm concerned, these two haven't been notified or approached to say that our Strategic Homeland Intelligence Enforcement and Logistics Division exist. It states in the documents they're up for recruitment _after_ they've graduated."

Jimmy slumped in his seat as even if we did find answers, we didn't find proper ones. He scratched his head, "Even if they're civilians, we've technically just lost two new potential recruits no thanks to Ross."

"It's not such a loss for the Academy of Communications, we have many hackers and analysts recruited in; plus the Communications department is our largest sub-division. It's people like Tina and Genesis who are rare potentials for Operations."

"That's if they get out of the Academy of Operations. I didn't join in like you did, but it still has the highest washout rate; right?" Woo snorted about the reputation of their Division's academies.

I shrugged. "That's not really the main point. If potential recruits keep on dying like this because the military is doing these things, well, I don't think that needs to be explained when it comes to how our Division will look like overall."

"Our Director's going to have a fit if he hears the killing of recruits keep on going."

"That's my point exactly."

After another few minutes of going over more papers on the victims of our mission, I wasn't paying attention to them. There weren't any more leads in any of the history they had according to what we found in the system. That only option left was to get it from the people involved. Genesis wasn't available at the current moment. The doctor had notified us in the middle of our investigations he was still unconscious, which made questioning not possible.

"I know that face when I see it," Woo interrupted my line of thought. He was smirking, "You're bored; you want a fresh interrogation victim."

"Are those two mercs we caught available?" I asked with a hopeful tone.

Woo laughed and opened the door, ushering me to get out. "I never thought you'd asked, J. This way."

* * *

**.**

**.**

As it turns out, the interrogation ended up being a disappointment. It wasn't a disappointment with the fact we got all the information we wanted, more so it wasn't the challenge Agent Woo and I sought for. After all the mercs that killed themselves to hide their information, the remaining two were just little scared minions without their superiors or backup. The two mercs who nearly killed me on the rooftop and in the aftermath of the car chase, basically cowered in their seats at the end of their separate interrogations. I thought the two would put up a good fight, but that never happened.

With the main interrogations over and done with, I holed myself back to my office to write out the general reports on what information we acquired from the mercs. Apparently, besides the fact that their mercenary group had killed a couple of civilians on occasions, they did have some histories of taking our own agents out. As it is, they probably never would be free according to our division's standards no matter how much they asked for lawyers. We didn't exactly give fair trials to people like them.

My partner on the other hand, made his way back to our investigation team support personnel to find out more on the mystery where Genesis had learned military strategy. It was probably something Woo figured to do that could heal the 'major interrogation letdown' frustration he had previously. In addition, he was possibly trying to figure out how he was going to approach Genesis later. Unfortunately, from what we heard from the captured mercs: the kid was still a very valuable target. The military wasn't going to let him go just yet. In conclusion, that meant Genesis was going to be 'hidden' by our division for an indefinite time - at least until we can give a nudge to the military we know and have evidence about one of their secret dicey projects.

With his injuries, Genesis wasn't going anywhere for now. In the long run, I felt sorry for the kid. It could be quite some time before he's free to go out in public again; and the worst scenario, perhaps never. Sure, the mercs didn't know Genesis was a teen, but there were still chances that if we let Genesis go too early, the military would pick up where they left off. We didn't need the military doing attempts of super soldier serum experiments on civilians; our division still had our own enemies to handle who were probably doing the same thing. The last thing we needed was a scuffle between internal government military divisions.

Another two days pass by, and Genesis finally awakened, even though he can't move much. Jimmy and I were scheduled to meet him after medical had finished an extensive check-up on him.

With the help of our code analysts, the chip that contained the project General Ross has been working on was passed to the top brass with our report I gave in yesterday. For now, the only reply and orders we've received was to keep hiding the kid. I wasn't sure how Genesis was going to react about being under our custody till we get more news. It was making me nervous how we were going to tell him. My partner on the other hand, when I walked into the investigation room, seemed to look chipper.

"You found something?" I asked the obvious. While I did most of the report to internal affairs, Jimmy had notified he went off on his own investigations about Genesis as well as the other victims.

He smiled. "Yes, and I wrapped up a few things as well." From his desk of evidences he pointed out items that belonged to the mercs as well as the victims. "Our forensics team has managed to get a lead what's left of the deceased victims and tie them to the dead mercs as well as those who are alive. They're going to be locked up for a long time."

"Were the families of the victims notified?"

"Yes, well, at least of what I can tell them. Plus, we've cooled down the press to stand down a little in regards to the Dave Robinson case." Woo said somber and not looking into my eyes. I nod in understanding the super soldier serum details were being classified, or bluntly said 'swept under the rug'. He then shuffled where he stood, "So, any ideas or news of what the higher-ups are going to do with the kid?"

At his question, I hesitated. "No idea, other than orders to hide him from Ross for now. I don't know how the kid is going to react when we tell him he's under observation and has to stay with us for some unknown time." Those records the kid got on the EYECOM simulator was reported along with case. Genesis wasn't going get out of the Division's eyes very soon if my hunch was correct.

"That's one way to look at it Sitwell; but I'm going to be realistic here," Woo noted, "We can't keep on hiding him like he is right now. The Division won't mind as long as he's injured; but after? I can't say. What I can say is that Genesis has been labeled dangerous to be left around not under the division's watch. It's too risky to have Genesis get caught by any enemy our division has."

I sigh shaking my head with pity, "You're right about that. Genesis' scores aren't helping him in this case."

This time Woo's expression turned curious. "Were they good?"

"Too good; maybe the better term would be 'unbelievably great.'" I breathed out, "The girl, Tina, was already projecting scores to pass the Operations Academy test for tactics and strategy with the EYECOM A.I. which is amazing in its own right."

"And Genesis?"

"He was projecting a score that defeated the current highest score in the Academy of Operations by at least 50%. It looks near impossible to achieve something like that if he wasn't taught by someone. That score should belong to an active strategy and tactical operative," I said trying to reason with myself about the real facts. If I hadn't seen Genesis' handiwork on the maps we had acquired from his bag, I wouldn't have believed it.

My partner at first gaped, but then he smiled, and then laughed.

I frowned at him with his sudden weird behavior. "Am I missing something here?"

Jimmy smirks. "Come on, Sitwell. Why do you think Director Fury dragged me in this division in the first place? You're missing on my awesome investigation skills."

At my partner's confidence, it clicked. "You've found where Genesis learned his skills?"

"Yeah," Woo nodded, and then waved me over to another table that had clear evidence labeled plastic bags. "What I found was actually a treasure trove. Check this; I found it in Genesis' bag, in between a Shakespearean pocket book called 'Loveless' he seems to carry around."

He shows me a crinkled photo and in it were three people. From Genesis' toga uniform it was obviously a graduation photo, but I didn't recognize the other two people in it at a glance. One was a girl, perhaps a college student? The other one was an old wrinkly man.

"Who are they?" I pointed out the other people besides Genesis.

Jimmy waved a finger at me. "The girl's just a volunteer nurse from what I've investigated on her. It's the old man in the wheelchair is the person you should be looking at."

Observing at old man again, I had a feeling I had seen that face somewhere, but it wasn't exactly the same. "I think I've seen him before."

"I suppose for you, you've seen his look-alike. As for me, I've met the old man personally." Agent Woo said in a mysterious tone.

"You knew him?" A nod. "So who was he?"

"Former CIA Agent, my dad knew the guy, was his superior for some time during his days working in the intelligence community, and was a family friend." he answered. Woo then said, "I went to his funeral not too long ago; only heard he died of an immune system disease."

"Who is he?" I asked again.

"Robert Coulson, but you know his son more. He's Fury's right hand man-"

"Agent Phil Coulson," I finished his explanation with a breath. "He's Agent Coulson's father."

Woo nodded and gave me a thumbs up. "Right, also," my partner added, "Agent Coulson Sr. was a liaison for the CIA to our Division since World War II and mostly the Cold War. Just like his son who now is one of our best operatives, so was Robert in his prime in the CIA. He was a legendary person in the tactical operations unit and known in the past as their most decorated field strategist."

Hearing his explanation, it was all starting to make sense. "So Genesis did learn from the best; it explains the ridiculous scores other than being a genius."

"It's also the reason why, we're going to give Genesis another option than staying with us doing nothing," Jimmy pointed out.

That wasn't what I expected my partner to hint at me. I raised the unbelievable question, "You're suggesting we recruit a minor?"

"He's technically a college student now," my partner deadpanned referring to Genesis' profile on the screen.

I disagreed. "He just turned sixteen this year, Jimmy."

Woo ignored my argument. "He doesn't have an official guardian or any family. If he goes back to normal public life, no one is going to care if the kid disappears. The truth stinks, but that's what happens to foster kids stuck in the foster system if they get into trouble. Our enemies who could find out about his talents without a doubt will take advantage of that. I'm suggesting Genesis joins up with us instead, rather than we suffer the consequences that he'll end up being our enemy one day."

"I'm not sure the Academy of Operations accepts anyone that young," I countered, "even if he has the score that far defeats the current record of the Academy of Operations passing grade in the AI program. They work differently than the Academy of Science and Technology."

Agent Woo shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not aware of how the recruitment goes for Academy students like you went through; but I think it's a matter of who is his Supervising Officer."

I knew who he was going to suggest. "You think Director Fury will agree Agent Coulson to be the kid's SO?"

"Not unless Agent Coulson meets the kid first and he agrees to take him in. You know how stubborn he gets when he spots someone with talent. He's a good judge of character." he replied calmly.

"Doesn't Agent Coulson have a protégé already?"

"I heard she declared herself of leaving the nest." _**(5)**_

I still wasn't sure of all of this. "You think Genesis will be okay with this?"

At my question Woo sighs heavily. "I think you know as well as I do that Genesis has limited options here. I'm just going to give him the best option." Heaving another breath, he added, "Agent Coulson's managed to handle Agent Clint Barton and he's now one the best operatives we have. Genesis should be in good hands."

"Since you're so sure about this idea, you're the one that's going to have to break the news to the kid." I said crossing my arms. While I agreed that Coulson did an exceptional job on Clint Barton, there was still another matter whether Coulson would want to take care of the teen in the first place. "Make sure it's a positive approach you're going with. It's the least I can pay to Genesis for saving my life."

"Leave it to me," Woo said confidently as he pats my back trying to reassure me. "I have a feeling we're going to change history somehow."

At that point I didn't believe Woo that we were doing any 'history in the making' event. Little did I know, the teenager I saved from sabotaging General Ross' mission would change the course of the future.

* * *

**.**

**.**

Genesis had learned very quickly he hated being trapped to a hospital bed again. Most of his limbs felt like lead, and severe exhaustion still lingered. His body wanted rest, but his eyes weren't going to close very soon, no thanks to sleeping for three days straight. Plus, with the very slow healing rate his shoulder and other bruises he had received during the rescue, he couldn't move around as much as he wanted to. Having food was okay, but he wasn't a fan of hospital food.

For safety's sake, he also kept his accelerated healing down. A few weeks of feeling pain was better than to alert the doctors to put him in a lab for examination whether he was an alien or not.

While on a general note he didn't have any problems in being in a hospital, being confined to a spot and having nothing to do was going to eventually drive him crazy out of boredom. He didn't have any luck in getting a book to read (apparently his LOVELESS book was stashed away as evidence) and there wasn't anything remotely interesting they could give him to do. The former SOLDIER reasoned that intelligence agency bases wouldn't have any sort of entertainment for their patients. He sighed and blamed it on the fact he rarely needed to get into hospitals thanks to his previous super soldier life. There were very few things that could get him injured enough. As for his degradation, he didn't stay long enough in ShinRa to get admitted into a hospital.

The red-haired teen was patient enough as Dr. Francis did an extensive check-up on him and in turn he was scheduled to meet the agents who saved his life the previous nights before. Out of sympathy, Genesis was later very glad that the good doctor had given him an empty notepad and pen to do what he wanted; whether he wanted to write notes or doodle in it. She hinted the fact that he could do what he wanted in it with the reality he was going to cope and live with the deaths of Tina, Edward, and Dave somehow.

At first, those three names had stung Genesis' heart then and there; but as quickly as it stung him, he buried it deeply in an instant. He wanted to mourn them, but he didn't want to mourn them too much when he was focusing on recovering his magical reserves. Without it, his chances to get out of something he faced like those nights ago were slim to none. The former crimson commander was taking precautions if he needed to escape again; despite the fact he loathed the thought of it.

Genesis wanted to trust the people who were helping him, but putting his life and freedom in the hands of a super-secret intel organization in his mind was questionable. His experience in ShinRa had been a wake-up call that it was important to always question people's motives; especially with organizations that had a lot to hide from the public. The ever calm flow of Lifestream that usually protected him didn't calm his nerves in the slightest. He knew it was leading him somewhere, but ultimately it was his decision that would change the course of everything.

After an hour of sketching, doodling anything that came to mind as to pass the time, the two agents entered his room. There was Sitwell, which he did recognize as the first person who reached out to him and rescued him from the mercs. The other agent who was his partner, Agent Woo, seemed to look happier than Genesis had seen him before. He wondered what was going on.

"You're awake, kiddo; how do you feel?" Woo asked as he took a seat next to Sitwell's that was beside Genesis' bed.

Genesis rolled his eyes. They probably won't stop calling him a 'kid' anytime soon. "Tired, some parts of my body feel painful, and I'm bored." he listed the obvious to Agent Woo. "I don't think I'm going to be walking anytime soon."

"Food sucks?"

"I don't like hospital food," the teen said truthfully, but paused and sighed, "but… it's better than not eating at all."

Sitwell easily gave Woo the 'look' that they needed to pass the pleasantries. The older agent obliged and nodded.

"Well, Genesis," the elder agent started. "We're here to talk about you. One part is about some questions as well as a recorded account on what you went through; but we'll get to that later. The main thing is… you're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Genesis didn't flinch but his demeanor turned guarded, "Fugitive, under observation, or useless baggage?" When both agents seemed to be shocked at his question, the teen explained, "I knew the consequences when I agreed to come along with someone from an intelligence agency. Nothing is for free."

"Smart kid; and we've checked you're more than that," Agent Woo said keeping a straight face. In his mind though, he was wrestling with the idea how calm the teen was accepting on all of this. "So, we're not going to go beating around the bush with you. You're under observation and our protection."

"For how long?"

This time it was Sitwell who replied, "Indefinite time; for all we know, Ross' military squad has retreated. However, there aren't any signs they have given up on trying to locate you."

At Sitwell's reply, Genesis laid back feeling more tired than ever on his bed and raked his messy hair back. "It's the scores I got, isn't it?"

"Right," the bald agent agreed, "and… we already know how you've managed to get that score, which shouldn't be possible under normal circumstances for someone your age."

At this, the former SOLDIER tensed. "I suppose it's not surprising you found something. What does that entail?"

"You're giving us an impression like it's a bad thing." Woo said with confusion.

There was a bitter chuckle from the teen. "It's hard not to ask about the bad things. I never would have thought a PC game would lead me to getting hunted by the military of all things. Also to face the facts I have three people deaths on my hands, and I nearly thought I had another one with your partner. Last but not least, I'm here at an intelligence agency which I don't think most of the population has heard of."

Agent Sitwell was the one to swerve the conversation back in the right direction. "We're actually offering you the best option you can take. Since you can't go out in public in the meantime, you're stuck with us. However, rather than waste time of weeks or perhaps months waiting for news, you can do something useful."

"What does that have to do with what Agent Woo said? All he knows is about how I have over average A.I. simulator scores." Genesis asked, not liking where this was going.

Woo shrugs innocently, "We're asking you to join us."

The teen blinked a couple of times. "I'm not hearing this in a drugged state, am I?" When both agents shook their heads, Genesis commented, "I don't exactly fit age-wise; I'd still be considered a minor in your 'classification' of work, strategy or otherwise."

At this opening, the eldest agent took out a photo from his suit pocket and laid it on Genesis' bedside. He chuckled, "I think that's a matter of whom you're acquainted with."

Genesis looked at the graduation photo, but said nothing and held a straight face. He wasn't sure he wanted them to know he was close to the old man who he considered like a grandfather.

"Well?" Woo asked again. When Genesis didn't speak, the agent chortled to his partner, "Not an agent yet, and the kid's already going on the 'silent defensive' mode. Come on J, help me with this." He was grinning like a loon as he spotted Genesis had good traits of a person who could put up a front in an interrogation room.

Sitwell this time rubbed his bald head with a sigh at his partner's antics. "Genesis, how close were you to former CIA Agent Robert Coulson? We're trying to solve a puzzle here regarding to your military tactical and strategy knowledge, your school records don't show you went to a military academy or any of the kind."

The former commander noticed quickly of the opportunity presented to him. For once, his relation to Robert saved him from the explanation he was a super soldier and on top of that, a commander of a special ops paramilitary unit in his previous life. The Goddess Minerva seemed to like working in mysterious ways and he thanked her for that. It was the truth and better alternative than an asylum for the crazy.

"He was the one who taught me what I know." Genesis replied softly. He didn't want to give too much information away.

In a casual position of his seat, James Woo flippantly asked, "Say, when you were with him, did he still have a love for Choco chip, ginger, and chocolate cookies? Coin or quarter sized ones? He liked rolling them on his knuckles similar how you would do the Knuckle-roll with a coin."

That question though, threw Genesis off-guard; a memory flashed back to his mind of his first Christmas on Earth.

"What? How did you-"

"He was a friend of my father; a superior to him for some time too. Close to my family as well, at least before my own father passed away." Woo said easily. He shrugged at the teen's discomfort. "You don't need to hide anything from us. Well, you can, but Agent Sitwell and I are the best interrogators around here. Since you reacted to something that Robert made sure was part of his private life, I think we can agree you were much closer to him than we thought."

To the teen's observation, Agent Woo was a person who played his cards right. It was futile to go against an expert now. If he was healthier, he would have lasted a little longer; but then again, maybe that was wishful thinking. Robert had mentioned previously the 'Division' he was now stuck in, recruited the best of the best in the intelligence community. Genesis figured he was lucky to be anywhere than the interrogation room at the moment.

"How much information should I tell you?" the redhead asked first. "I did promise a few things he doesn't want anyone to know."

"Did he say about keeping secrets to the grave?" the eldest agent quipped.

"Those were his exact words more or less." Genesis ended up smiling despite he was tired.

"I'd say you can keep the most important ones out and give us the relevant information to your case." Woo nodded but then pointed out, "You haven't answered my initial question yet."

This time Genesis didn't hide his feelings. "He was like a grandfather I never had. I don't think I'd be here if he didn't teach me the things he did. Minus his flaring temper, moody outbursts, and big ego, he's a good man."

"Good, very good," Woo said approvingly. "With what you just said, I think I may know a person that could be your potential Supervising Officer."

At the suggestion, Genesis turned to Agent Sitwell, "Did he hear I haven't said yes or anything about joining your organization?"

"Whether you've mentioned anything or not wouldn't matter in the long run. I'm going to be blunt to you Genesis; your mission case is harder than it looks if you want to start over and walk in open public with no problems." Sitwell supplied diplomatically.

"Can't I think this over?" Genesis requested starting to feel dizzy. Maybe all this information was too much for him to grasp on the first day he wakes up from nearly dying on the operation table nearly three times. It's a good thing at that moment Dr. Francis hovers by the window of his room and gave the two agents the signs their visit was over.

"Yeah, take your time," Woo says as he stands from his seat and walks away. With Genesis' super hearing though, the teen heard him mumble, "So you were the one that visited Robert's grave; just like the hobos mentioned. I'm still making the call to your potential SO, kid."

The former SOLDIER was starting to question whether he let Agent Sitwell take him here and pass on the data was a good thing or not. The last thing he needed was to be caught in a mess that was something akin to being recruited for the Turks. Unfortunately, his options were what the agents had told him: he didn't have a choice in the matter.

Sighing and reluctantly accepting his current situation, Genesis decided he'd ask a few more questions, just to get an idea what he was in for.

* * *

**.**

**.**

Just as I was going to make way to the door, Genesis asks, "Agent Sitwell?"

"Yes, Genesis?"

The teen hesitated for a while but he questioned, "What do you think about this Division you work in? Do you trust it?"

I shrugged, "I think it's doing what it's supposed to do, protect people from the worst and unimaginable things. It's a reason why we exist, and there's a limit the public should know, at least until it's acceptable." At his second question my answer was by the book, "Trust the system, Genesis. It's been around since World War II."

"Even with all of those secrets that can make most people question their sanity on what's good or bad?" Genesis asked again. "The world's not exactly black and white anymore."

"I never had a reason to doubt our Division, and there aren't any reasons the Division has given me."

"I see." the teen muttered. "And if there was?"

That was one question I had no clue to answer. "I don't know. I suppose that will depend on what happens and there is a good reason for it."

Genesis was silent, looking like he was deeply thinking over it.

"You can't keep a distance to not trust anyone at all." I reminded him. "It's not healthy for you."

"It's a good at keeping me alive," the teen countered. He sighed, "Sorry, I got caught up with something in the past. I have trust issues."

"It's alright." I say waving him off but noted that something about trust shook Genesis' faith in most people. "You're still recovering and the military were after you for three months. It's natural you would have problems in believing us."

Genesis didn't seem like he wanted to let me out yet but Dr. Francis was already pointing to the clock. "One final question, before you go?"

I breathed out. "Make it quick, kid."

"Say if I joined your intelligence Division, and suddenly there's an internal war or political power struggle and we're on different sides. If someone gave you the order, would you kill me?" _**(6)**_

"I-"

"Yes or no would suffice," Genesis said hurriedly.

"No," I said very sure of myself. "I owe my life to you," I said as I stopped the redhead from interrupting, "You saved my life twice. So let's call the first one even with you now here." I let Genesis digest it before I continued, "I'll respect what you choose, but I'm not person who lets things go easily. You can expect me to fight you later on if it's required of me though. I'd rather follow what I believe in than die knowing of something I didn't."

The teen inclined his head, "Thank you for answering, Agent Sitwell." On his face he seemed to come to a judgment.

"You should rest and not think too much, you're still recovering." This time I left the room with Genesis lying down and closing his eyes to probably sleep.

A few short minutes I'm back in my office and Genesis' words actually made me think just what had happened to the kid; to make him question the system that was set in place for decades. People flocked the Strategic Homeland, Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division as it was a privilege to serve it. I shook my head to let my own thoughts aside. Other people's loyalties weren't my business at the current moment. For me, as long as I had someone like Agent Woo I can trust my life with, I didn't question the Division.

A buzz from a text message on my phone alerts me that it's from Agent Woo.

_To: Sitwell, Jasper_

_From: Woo, James_

_Message: Hey Jasper, I got an appointment with Agent Coulson. I'll be absent for the next internal meeting and let you know how it turns out later. Wish me luck!_

I chuckled at the text. At times I'm thankful on how positive my partner takes on things. Come to think of it, I wondered how Coulson was going to take on Genesis with his trust issues despite the kid could connect with Coulson Sr. That's if he did want Genesis as his next protégé. While Genesis didn't seem paranoid as Agent Barton was known for, it was a different type of distrust. While Barton's distrust was based on observation, Genesis' form of it came from asking the reasons and wanting answers.

I sent a message back to my partner he needed all the luck he could get. If he handled something Agent Coulson was privy with, it was only a matter of time Director Fury would have his eye on it. Jimmy had a good long way ahead of him if he was going to convince Fury of trusting a teenager with a tactical and strategy simulator score that rivaled active operatives. I wasn't sure how far his relations with Coulson's father would assure the director, but I trusted he could get the job done.

* * *

" _Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks." ~ Isaac Watts_

**_~ End ~_ **

* * *

**_The series continues in... Agent Rhapsodos Introductions: Agent Phillip J. Coulson_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trivia:
> 
> (1) The Wall of Valor is a memorial to fallen agents of SHIELD and the Strategic Scientific Reserve located at all S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities including the campuses of S.H.I.E.L.D. Academies. - Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia
> 
> (2) The Daily Globe is one of New York City's main Newspaper agency that is in the Marvel Universe. Although not mentioned in any of Marvel Movies, it is the Daily Bulge's main rival. This news agency unlike its rival, often times have supported superheroes (i.e. Dare Devil) in the Marvel comics in contrast of the Daily Bulge's distrust concerning superheroes such as Spider-Man. – Marvel Wikia
> 
> (3) Oscorp Industries is Norman Osborn's company, located in New York City. Oscorp Tower was to be added to NYC's skyline in The Avengers (2012), becoming the first "team-up" between Disney and Sony franchise, but the model wasn't ready in time for it to be included. – Marvel Movies Wikia
> 
> (4) The SHIELD Academy is the name commonly used for the three academies where SHIELD trains its new recruits. The Academy of Communications is the largest of the Academies, its curriculum focuses on data analysis. It also interacts the most with the other two academies. The Academy of Operations on the other hand, has the most aggressive program, and has the highest percentage of washouts; it trains Operatives and Field Officers. Lastly, the Academy of Science and Technology is responsible for guiding many of the world's best and brightest scientific minds. All cadets require at least one Ph.D to enter the academy. – Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia
> 
> (5) Akela Amadour is known as Agent Coulson's previous protégé in Agents of SHIELD (TV series) in episode 4: 'Eye Spy'. In 2006, she went missing in an awry mission that most of SHIELD had thought she was dead. Coulson kept her file case open, despite the investigation team's insistence there were no survivors. – Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia
> 
> (6) Genesis' question where Loyalties and trust lie mirrors major events in both fandoms. In Genesis' case, he's questioning whether SHIELD isn't another ShinRa company. In Sitwell's case, a test of loyalties and trust was Captain America: The Winter Soldier's main political thriller theme.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes/Trivia:
> 
> (1) Agent Blake is a serious agent, who tends to do everything by the book, leaving no space for creativity - somewhat similar to Agent Maria Hill. He makes his first appearance in Marvel's One-Shot: Item 47 working alongside Agent Sitwell. – Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia.
> 
> (2) According to the MCU Timeline, General Thaddeus Ross revived the super soldier project in the Year 2002, four years before the Incredible Hulk starts (Year 2006). This fic takes place a year before Doctor Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk for the first time.
> 
> (3) Gun suppressors only suppress the sound of a gun and rifle and do not (like in Hollywood movies) silence them completely. At a half mile radius, it would have made a difference. At a closer distance 6-30 feet, the gunshot can still be heard clearly.
> 
> (4) Genesis Rhapsodos hears the existence of SHIELD from a former CIA agent named Robert in the prequel fanfic: 'A Part that Remains'.
> 
> (5) The SHIELD abbreviation was not created until the events after Iron Man (2008), where Tony mentions to Agent Coulson the longer version of the division's name was too tedious to remember.


End file.
